Agrivoltaics (noun, “agg-reh-voll-TAY-iks”)
Agrivoltaics is the practice of using the same land for farming and producing solar energy. This practice often consists of placing solar panels over farmland.
The word “agrivoltaics” is a mash-up of “agriculture” and “photovoltaics.” Agriculture refers to farming. Photovoltaics describes technology that makes electricity from sunlight. Solar panels are one example.
Solar farms use solar panels to generate clean energy. But these farms take up a lot of land. Farms that grow crops and raise livestock use a lot of land too. Agrivoltaics saves space by allowing farmers to harvest electricity and food from the same land.
Research has shown that adding solar panels to farms can actually help crops. Leafy crops, such as lettuces and some herbs, grow well in the shade of the solar panels. The plants can also benefit from the increased soil moisture in partially shaded ground.
Agrivoltaics may benefit livestock, too. For example, farmers might allow sheep to graze under solar panels. This would give them relief from the hot sun in the summer.
Other agrivoltaics projects focus on cultivating pollinators. For instance, planting wildflowers under solar farms can attract butterflies, bees and other insects. These tiny helpers can then pollinate nearby crops.
No single agrivoltaics technique works everywhere. Squash, for example, generally need direct sunlight. So they don’t thrive under solar panels.
Even lower-light crops may have trouble growing well in agrivoltaics setups. For example, the shade from solar panels helps keep the soil damp. On some farms, this comes as a benefit. But it may also increase the risk of some plant diseases. And water pouring off the panels during a rainstorm may overwater some plants.
Researchers today are exploring how to minimize these and other challenges. They’re also finding ways to maximize the production of crops and energy.
In a sentence
Shade-loving leafy greens such as kale and lettuce thrive under the solar panels of agrivoltaics farms.
